


Just a Talk

by Dramaticdragon



Category: Love Me For Who I Am (manga), 不可解なぼくのすべてを | Fukakai na Boku no Subete wo (Manga)
Genre: Other, Tetsu talks to classmates about gender and sexuality thats it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:28:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28003146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dramaticdragon/pseuds/Dramaticdragon
Summary: Tetsu has some curious classmates, but thankfully these two are actually willing to listen.
Relationships: Tetsu Iwaoka/Ryuunosuke Mogumo
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	Just a Talk

**Author's Note:**

> as always, I base my Love Me For Who I Am fics on my real life lol. I've had a LOT of people ask like "isn't it weird" but be genuinely willing to listen to my answer about things. I think some people just don't know how to ask, so they go with that as a safety net, but really do wanna hear the answer you give. It's all about patience when explaining it, and not getting angry- no one listens to someone who's angry!

Frankly, Tetsu could live in the happy little bubble that Café Question lives in for the rest of his life. With no one else but his sister, Ten-chan, Suzu, Mei, and Mogumo. And their customers, but they don’t really count right now.

It’s kind of like when you exist in a very specific peer group for so long, you forget people can be radically different. You just end up assuming your group is the “norm”, because it’s normal to you.

So, yes, maybe his friend group was a bit… _eccentric_. But he loved them.

The oddest part, is he didn’t consider them “eccentric” for their non-traditional views on gender or sexuality. In fact, having trans and non-binary and gay members was just a background factor at this point; the _eccentric_ came from all the bizarre antics they get into. From Mei’s absurd spending habits, to Suzu’s long-winded stories about his boyfriend (who Tetsu is starting to believe hasn’t even _done_ half the things Suzu talks about), to Ten-chan’s weirdly famous online presence, and now to Mogumo, who will come to work looking like a half-dead zombie, because there was an online gaming tournament the night before.

The fact that they were non-binary, and dressed in very feminine clothes, was just the medium that transported the strange amount of knowledge about this one RPG’s dungeon maps. (How did they memorize all those maps, but still get a C on the last math test?!)

But when Tetsu re-enters the real world, he is abruptly reminded that Mogumo, and his whole co-worker family, are considered “eccentric” by the world for all different reasons.

“Don’t you think it’s weird that Mogumo wears girl’s clothes, but never tries to play off like a girl?” One of Tetsu’s male classmates (Kenji, right?) asked Tetsu one day, during lunch.

“No, not really,” Tetsu answered.

“What do you mean?” One of Tetsu’s other classmates, a girl named Ayanokoji, asked, leaning in towards Tetsu’s table to join the conversation.

“Well, it’s like,” Kenji started, looking up to the ceiling for articulation, “Let’s say he wanted to dress up like a girl. Weird, but alright. But, like, wouldn’t it be way less of an issue if he lied and just said he was a girl? Like, we wouldn’t think anything of it, if we just thought he was a girl. Plus, he might even be able to use the girl’s restroom and stuff and we wouldn’t even notice! Might as well go all the way if you’re already going to wear a girl’s uniform, right?”

Tetsu tried with all his willpower not to cringe every time Kenji said “he”, instead of “they”. Mogumo had told him that he doesn’t need to be Mogumo’s white knight, and correct anyone and everyone, because ultimately he’ll just start arguments that way- but _man_ did Tetsu want to correct him every single time. It felt… so _wrong_.

“Oh, that makes sense I guess.” Ayanokoji shrugged, resting her head on her chin and her elbow on Tetsu’s desk, “But maybe because he’s trying to play it safe? Like, avoid the fallout from when we find out that’s a lie? This way, there’s no dramatic fallout.”

“You know I’m _dating_ Mogumo, right?” Tetsu sighed, somewhat angrily. Why are they gossiping about Mogumo _on his desk_?!

“Yeah, that’s why I asked!” Kenji nodded, like this was normal, “You know the most about him!”

“Speaking of which,” Ayanokoji added, “What’s it like dating a guy like that? Who’s more like a girl, but not really?”

Tetsu could _feel_ his restraint, at this point. But, technically, they _asked_ , and Mogumo did give him full permission to explain their situation if someone asked!

“Mogumo isn’t really a guy or a girl,” He explained, “Also, I don’t really care about the clothes they wear, anyway.”

“How can you be not one or the other?” Kenji asked, his voice suspicious, but still genuinely curious enough that Tetsu felt it was safe to elaborate.

“It’s like how you feel really certain you’re a guy, even when you’re little and don’t really know about the whole _biological_ reason you’re a guy. It’s just part of you. For Mogumo, they just know they’re not a girl or a guy.”

To Kenji and Ayanokoji’s defense, they did nod first and try to listen, instead of just shouting out that it was weird.

“Does that mean you’re gay?” Ayanokoji asked, and also seemed more curious than spiteful.

“No, I’m- uh, I’ll get back to you on that one, actually,” Tetsu sighed. That was a problem he, too, was trying to solve.

“But you don’t think it’s weird?” Kenji asked, his face contorting like he’s reading a long word problem for a math class he’s not even in, “Not being either? Do you still call him your boyfriend, then?”

“They’re my partner,” Tetsu said, making sure he enunciated the _they_ in his sentence.

Kenji and Ayanokoji were quite for a moment, nibbling on their own lunches.

“Why do you ask?” Tetsu finally asked, feeling secure enough that they wouldn’t just say ‘because it’s gross’, or something bigoted like that.

“I guess, I thought if a guy was going to wear a girl’s uniform, it was because he was a pervert, or just really bullied or something.” Kenji shrugged, “But I know there was an upperclassman before who was a guy wearing a girl’s uniform, but he lied about being a girl, so that’s what I thought all guys like that did.”

Tetsu nodded, knowing that he had to be respectful and listen so they would, too.

“I don’t really know what upperclassman you’re talking about, so I can’t speak for them, but… Mogumo just prefers that clothing style, and they’re _definitely_ not a pervert. It’s just like… Wouldn’t you rather wear clothes that you feel represent you better?”

“But our uniforms aren’t even that cute,” Ayanokoji giggled a little, “If we all got to wear clothes we’d like, I’d never wear this uniform!”

Tetsu laughed a little with her, remembering Mei talk to Mogumo about her rankings of all the local school uniforms.

“Well, I guess out of the two options we have, that’s their preferred version.”

“Is it hard to go on dates, or something? People probably stare, huh?” Kenji, ever the sudden investigator, asked.

“Well, I’m kind of used to people staring and being cruel,” Tetsu sighed sadly, remembering the many, _many_ lines thrown at his sister, “That doesn’t make it any more fun, though. So please, try not to whisper about people when you’re out, either.”

Ayanokoji blinked, like Tetsu had said something amazing or thoughtful.

“Oh, that’s true…” She whispered.

“Hm?” Both boys asked, facing her.

“I guess, it’s just… It sounds _stupid_ , out loud, but you kinda forget sometimes, people can usually hear a lot more than you think…” She mumbled, “One time, I had a tear in my stockings- a big one, mind you- and I remember a couple old ladies staring at me like I was some ‘woman of the night’, or something. That really hurt, you know!”

Tetsu nodded rigorously, glad to have an outlet like that example.

“Exactly!” He said, continuing to nod, “It _sucks_ , even if you don’t know the people talking about you!”

“But aren’t most people just confused, ‘cause it _is_ kind of weird.” Kenji shrugged, looking like he was justifying his own actions.

“I think most people are way more hateful than curious. When you’re curious, you ask questions; most of them don’t _ask_ , though, they just _say_ what they think of you.”

Kenji and Ayanokoji hummed, and nodded after a moment.

“That’s true…” Kenji mumbled.

“But if it’s rude, how will people ask questions to understand?” Ayanokoji asked shyly.

“If you ask nicely, it’s not rude,” Tetsu explained, “I mean, maybe don’t go up to someone on the street you don’t know and ask them what’s in their pants or something. But this is pretty okay, right now. Asking me, since you know me, and all.”

“Even though we called Mogumo weird?” Kenji asked, his voice embarrassed.

“Well, I’d rather you _not_ do that, but if you’re willing to listen, I can overlook it,” Tetsu said dryly. He’d heard a lot worse, anyway, and he was being honest. If Kenji and Ayanokoji were willing to listen, like they really seemed to be, he would maneuver through some poorly placed comments.

“If we have any other questions, can we come back? I think I’m still really confused on the whole ‘not one or the other’ thing.” Ayanokoji asked, facing Tetsu head on.

“Well, if you wanted, I can ask Mogumo if they’d be willing to explain it themselves to you, that way I don’t miss anything in translation, or something. Since I’m just a guy, after all.” Tetsu offered, “But you’d have to be really mindful of what you say. And try to be open minded.”

Ayanokoji nodded.

“But for right now,” Tetsu continued, “I don’t mind answering some things. I’d rather people ask awkward questions, if they’re willing to listen, so I don’t mind being kind of a spokesperson.”

“I have one last one before lunch ends,” Kenji announced, but his sneaky smile was making Tetsu nervous.

“Have you two ever _kissed_?” Kenji asked, and he and Ayanokoji leaned way in, suddenly more interested than they had been the whole conversation.

“N-No!” Tetsu answered quickly, leaning back, feeling like his desk space area was suddenly heating up.

“Awww,” Ayanokoji pouted, leaning back, “Lame.”

“Dude, come _on_ ,” Kenji sighed, leaning back as well.

Tetsu felt a small, petty voice want to speak up with “didn’t you just call Mogumo _weird_ , why are you asking about us kissing now?!” but then he realized- being interrogated about kissing is such a normal, mundane, traditional couples experience to have. If anything, this was good, because it meant Kenji and Ayanokoji saw him and Mogumo as “normal” enough to ask about it.

Perhaps it was a weird thing to celebrate, but Tetsu would take the small victory. It was really reassuring, after years of building up mistrust of others, to see two others really be genuine in their efforts to understand Mogumo, even if they had a few odd wordings here and there. Maybe that would start to be a trend, from now on. Hopefully, Tetsu would meet more people like that, who even if they didn’t relate or understand, just went with it after hearing about it.

**Author's Note:**

> we did it boys i wrote a fukaboku fic over 1000 words


End file.
